The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[DesertSurfer]

WTF?

I posted a duplicate, removed it, and now the original has gone.

It was something something, external power supplies are not all bad, certainly not a deal breaker for me, something something.

I don't have a problem with external power supplies either. Especially when connected to a mini with a 1080ti

 

[now i see it]

The Mac Mini from the Cretaceous period has nothing on this.

 

[Cape Dave]

WTF?

I posted a duplicate, removed it, and now the original has gone.

It was something something, external power supplies are not all bad, certainly not a deal breaker for me, something something.

Agree, I could care less about an external PSU.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Agree, I could care less about an external PSU.

Personally, I prefer an external PSU. The less equipment up on top of the desk, the better; anything that can be left down on the floor should be left there.

 

[Lankyman]

This thread should really be called the 'still living in hope' thread. I think even the most loyal fan must now be thinking a new Mini is dead in the water, it's very unlikely to happen.

 

[twalk]

Personally, I prefer an external PSU. The less equipment up on top of the desk, the better; anything that can be left down on the floor should be left there.

More to the point, one has just a cord, the other has a box in the middle of the cord. I still can't see what the difference is... except that a PSU inside a case produces more heat and is harder to replace if it fails.

 

[SpacemanSpiffed]

More to the point, one has just a cord, the other has a box in the middle of the cord. I still can't see what the difference is... except that a PSU inside a case produces more heat and is harder to replace if it fails.

Having had a 2010, 2011, and 2012 Mini, I never found the internal PSU to be a problem or issue, and I've opened and upgraded all three of those. What I do see, is that if you are willing to spend the money and make the PSU right, I won't a be a problem - witness the tear-down comparisons of Apple's iPad / iPhone chargers vs cheap knock-offs.

So I say, the PSU internal or external is more a matter of what you like. The bigger items I would touch if I was the Mac Mini team Czar is everything else inside the case. 2C and 4C mobile CPUs with GUP eDRAM. Bring back the easily user serviceable RAM up to 32GB. Keep enough space for a 15mm HDD, and add 2x M.2 2280 hookups. Put 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports on the back, while keeping 3 USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and keeping the HDMI port, but up to ver 2.0 which can drive 4K @ 60hz. And I would consider making a change to the front of the Unibody - adding a stylish nook on the front with a second Audio/headphone jack, a USB 3 Type Port with always-on charging, and a microphone - so that the Mini line could use "hey Siri!". Low end is dual core i5-7260 w/ 8GB and 250GB SSD. High end is a quad core i7-7870HQ with 32GB and a 6TB Fusion Drive. Would compare nicely to the older models and sell well. Ok, I've used up my dreaming quotient for the day...

 

[JamesPDX]

Control-Alt-Shift-Delete-Backspace-Control-#$.

Whoops. That was supposed to go into the Windows forum.

 

[Micky Do]

This thread should really be called the 'still living in hope' thread. I think even the most loyal fan must now be thinking a new Mini is dead in the water, it's very unlikely to happen.

Diletantes have been predicting the demise of the Mac Mini since 2007…. It hasn't happened.

New Mac Minis have come, and will almost certainly continue to do so, albeit less frequently than in the past.

 

[Cape Dave]

I think some one needs to say it. The new Mac Mini is never ever ever ever ever ever coming. Not ever.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Diletantes have been predicting the demise of the Mac Mini since 2007…. It hasn't happened.

New Mac Minis have come, and will almost certainly continue to do so, albeit less frequently than in the past.

If the Mini is only going to be updated once every three years, and only have very-low-end configurations, and be utterly unexpandable -- I just don't see the Mini as a going concern any more.

Perhaps my needs don't fit into Apple's current Mac lineup. I'm a cheapskate; I'll never be able to afford the Pro, and the iMac integrates features I don't want and then forces me to pay for them. For a long time now, the Mini fit the bill for me -- access to the wonderful OS X, decent power, acceptable price. But if I'm going to use that machine as my main computing device, I need an upgrade path. I need some assurance that, at some point in the not-so-distant future, I'm going to be able to replace my current machine with a new one, should something happen to it.

Apple is not providing any such assurances. Sure, they may update the Mini in the future. But they are giving no hints as to what features that machine may have, nor even any confirmation that there will be a future Mini.

This is not a game! My computer is not a toy; it is a tool I use every day to get work done. If I can't depend upon that tool being there for me in the future and doing the job I need it to do, the I need to be looking for a different tool...

 

[ViVi555]

I too, believe that the current form of Mac Mini is dead. If Apple ever come up with another headless mac, it will come in the like of Intel ComputeStick. A 2-3 inch long stick with a male USB-C that you plug into the back of a USB-C capable monitor. No power brick needed. Fanless Intel core M, 8GB Ram, 128GB storage and single USB-C port on the other end of the stick.

 

[Miat]

But the mini? What’s today’s market for a new Mini? It’s frankly hard for me to define a viable market strategy to continue producing it, beyond us greybeards who still want something to use as a home server or a home media server.

I can justify producing a new Mac Pro line (whatever it’s called) that only sells 100-200,000 units in the lifetime, but can I justify a new generation Mac Mini if it doesn’t sell a million units? And can I figure out a market that’ll buy a million of them over 2-3 years? In trying to define a market for that box, I can’t.

And I don’t think it makes sense to build the Mac Mini if it’ll only sell 50,000 copies to people building media servers to run Plex on.

The market has changed, and I think it’s changed in ways where a device like the Mac Mini no longer makes sense.

https://chuqui.com/2016/07/dave-mark-where-are-the-new-macs/

 

[Tigerman82]

If the Mini is only going to be updated once every three years, and only have very-low-end configurations, and be utterly unexpandable -- I just don't see the Mini as a going concern any more.

Perhaps my needs don't fit into Apple's current Mac lineup. I'm a cheapskate; I'll never be able to afford the Pro, and the iMac integrates features I don't want and then forces me to pay for them. For a long time now, the Mini fit the bill for me -- access to the wonderful OS X, decent power, acceptable price. But if I'm going to use that machine as my main computing device, I need an upgrade path. I need some assurance that, at some point in the not-so-distant future, I'm going to be able to replace my current machine with a new one, should something happen to it.

Apple is not providing any such assurances. Sure, they may update the Mini in the future. But they are giving no hints as to what features that machine may have, nor even any confirmation that there will be a future Mini.

This is not a game! My computer is not a toy; it is a tool I use every day to get work done. If I can't depend upon that tool being there for me in the future and doing the job I need it to do, the I need to be looking for a different tool...

I hear you. In my family, I've been using an iMac and my spouse a Mac Mini. Both are beginning show age as the iMac is Mid 2010 and the Mac Mini is Early 2009. We'd love to continue using Macs as they've been quiet, efficient and OS X has been a pleasure to use. Unfortunately, it seems clear to me that Apple's focus is increasingly aimed at the mobile market. I mean if you take into account the high price tags of an iMac or a Mac Mini (especially considering how much something like a similarly powered Intel NUC costs), the fact STILL Apple has refused to make SSD drive technology as default (it's sad when in this day and age you pay can pay well over a 1200 dollars for an iMac and get a 5400rpm HDD), the increased difficulty in user-made hardware upgrades and the extremely slow Apple-made hardware upgrades, you cannot say in good conscience that Apple is your friend in the desktop market.

As our Mac Mini is in dire need of upgrade (e.g. cannot stream HD content, OS is slow even though I've done all the cleanup tricks), I'm giving Apple a month (they do have a yearly March event before the big one in June) to upgrade the Mac Mini. If the upgraded version does not come, I'm recommending that my spouse gets an Intel NUC and eventually get myself one too.

 

[SpacemanSpiffed]

https://chuqui.com/2016/07/dave-mark-where-are-the-new-macs/

I do think that Chuq misses the mark if he thinks most Minis are just being used at HTPC or to run Plex.

At the last 2 big companies I worked for (including the house of mouse , almost everyone had a MacBook Pro as their personal workstation - inline with the trends to open office floorplans and easily movable desks... all in the name of collaboration. So to compliment them, there were a bunch of Mini's as local servers, CI and Build Machines, etc. They are very versatile, and were easy for departments to get compared to dedicated "real servers". Lots of App developers use Minis. And many more diverse uses. Apple would be making a big mistake to leave only the iMac in the desktop space.
[doublepost=1489140657][/doublepost]

I hear you. In my family, I've been using an iMac and my spouse a Mac Mini. Both are beginning show age as the iMac is Mid 2010 and the Mac Mini is Early 2009. We'd love to continue using Macs as they've been quiet, efficient and OS X has been a pleasure to use. Unfortunately, it seems clear to me that Apple's focus is increasingly aimed at the mobile market. I mean if you take into account the high price tags of an iMac or a Mac Mini (especially considering how much something like a similarly powered Intel NUC costs), the fact STILL Apple has refused to make SSD drive technology as default (it's sad when in this day and age you pay can pay well over a 1200 dollars for an iMac and get a 5400rpm HDD), the increased difficulty in user-made hardware upgrades and the extremely slow Apple-made hardware upgrades, you cannot say in good conscience that Apple is your friend in the desktop market.

As our Mac Mini is in dire need of upgrade (e.g. cannot stream HD content, OS is slow even though I've done all the cleanup tricks), I'm giving Apple a month (they do have a yearly March event before the big one in June) to upgrade the Mac Mini. If the upgraded version does not come, I'm recommending that my spouse gets an Intel NUC and eventually get myself one too.

I hate to say it, but I think for HD streaming you would be best served with Kaby Lake i5 NUC. I currently have 4 of the Skylake i5 NUCs for multiplayer game testing and am pretty happy with them. The new Kaby Lake powered ones have HDMI 2.0, which can output 4K @ 60hz, Iris Plus graphics which can run mid-range games pretty well, and the power supplies are much smaller than those from a couple versions ago. You can choose if you want space for a 2.5 HDD in addition to the m.2, so if you want to store a lot of video then add a 2TB 2.5" drive for only ~$100. The only question is if you want to run Windows 7 instead of 10. It looks doable, and people have done it, but not it's clear how solid the support it, since MSFT doesn't like that.

 

[cynics]

WTF?

I posted a duplicate, removed it, and now the original has gone.

It was something something, external power supplies are not all bad, certainly not a deal breaker for me, something something.

I agree for me personally it's not a "deal breaker" but not preferred either.

Given the idea of a SFF computer there is something to be said about maintaining a compact design. Many owners will need to put in the effort to make an external power brick look nice or not be noticeable.

I believe it's midway in the cord of the H2. Which I prefer so it doesn't hog up valuable space at the surge protector/UPC.

Not denying that ease of replacement of a PSU failure isn't worth noting. However not something I've experienced with a Mac though.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Given the idea of a SFF computer there is something to be said about maintaining a compact design. Many owners will need to put in the effort to make an external power brick look nice or not be noticeable.

Meh. You've already got a power cord, a cord to the monitor, a power cord coming off the monitor, possible cords for keyboard / mouse, cords to external hard drives (I never seem to be able to run an SFF without at least one ), probably a data / charging cord for the smartphone, data / charging cord for the tablet, and a surge suppressor (or UPS) to plug everything into, etc. I've got multiple monitors, external speakers, a USB hub, an ethernet cord... If you're using all the features of the computer, you're gonna have cords.

So what if one of the power cords connects up to a power brick somewhere? It can't be all that big of a deal...

 

[cynics]

Meh. You've already got a power cord, a cord to the monitor, a power cord coming off the monitor, possible cords for keyboard / mouse, cords to external hard drives (I never seem to be able to run an SFF without at least one ), probably a data / charging cord for the smartphone, data / charging cord for the tablet, and a surge suppressor (or UPS) to plug everything into, etc. I've got multiple monitors, external speakers, a USB hub, an ethernet cord... If you're using all the features of the computer, you're gonna have cords.

So what if one of the power cords connects up to a power brick somewhere? It can't be all that big of a deal...

Like I said, not a deal breaker. I'm pretty particular about cable management and a power brick adds a layer of complexity since I can't typically just zip tie the wire or run it with a table leg.

With my iMac for example I have a USB hub mounted behind the Mac and cables routed behind and into the keyboard drawer. There are no visible wires from virtually any angle except the blue ray drive which is 6" USB.

I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill either and I know this is a non issue for many. And with the right specs something I'd be more then willing to deal with. Apple could power the Mini over USB C which would still require an external PSU and probably be the type that hogs up a surge protector.

In reality I find it unlikely Apple would use an external PSU on a desktop due to its limitations of power limits, quality and efficiency. There is rarely any logic to them definitely, not the type with the H2, not sure about USB C options though.

 

[Partron22]

It is possible to stub your toe on an external power brick.
On the other hand, it does not hog outlets like a wall-wart, and lets you easily identify which cord powers your Mac.

 

[Boyd01]

For many years Apple laptops have shipped with both a wall adapter and a power cord that connects to the brick. Although the connectors on the laptop end have changed, the connectors on the brick have not - I can still use the cord from my PowerBook G4 on my MacBook Air. Now Apple created a small stir last year when they broke this tradition and did not include the power cord with one of the laptops. I think it was the new MacBook Pro, but possibly also the MacBook.

 

[Cape Dave]

For many years Apple laptops have shipped with both a wall adapter and a power cord that connects to the brick. Although the connectors on the laptop end have changed, the connectors on the brick have not - I can still use the cord from my PowerBook G4 on my MacBook Air. Now Apple created a small stir last year when they broke this tradition and did not include the power cord with one of the laptops. I think it was the new MacBook Pro, but possibly also the MacBook.

But of course! Tim Cook needs more money. So we get less. Didn't you know that is how it works? Sad and pathetic that Apple cannot do us a favor once in awhile by including a $5 adaptor whatever dongle whatever.

 

[Boyd01]

Yeah, but actually in this case I already have half a dozen of those cords from old laptops so it's no big deal (unless they make them incompatible, which is probably the next step). I remember they included a DVI dongle with my Power Mac G5 so you could use newer monitors with their proprietary connectors (ADC?). And they included an HDMI to DVI dongle with the 2012 Mini. Also included some kind of DVI dongle with older MacBook Pros.

I guess them days are long gone now.

 

[cynics]

I doubt Apple could build the Mini we all want. The market just doesn't seem to be their on the consumer level.

Professionally the NUC found a niche with businesses updating their PC's looking for something small and affordable. Apple obviously doesn't have that luxury.

Looking back at the 2014 model it seems like a effort to capture more of the market by reducing its price (and of course its specs). And now we have a high end Mini which is encroaching on the price of a 4k iMac. So its less powerful, almost as expensive and doesn't include a P3 4K Monitor (a damn good monitor for creative types). If we compare the high end Mini processor to the low end 4k Retina iMac processor the iMac comes out on top (not massively but its there).

Where do they have left to go? Its unlikely they will cut their margins because that is just cutting off their nose to spite their face when they have another product that does work at a profit margin they like.

If they just cranked up the specs with no regard (and of course price) we'd likely have another G4 Cube on our hands. Any product that fails even built is small quantity can result in massive losses.

What do you guys think? From Apples perspective...

 

[now i see it]

How can we guess what Apple is going to do when they clearly are without a rudder? The best thing that could happen to the mac is to fire Mr. Ive. But we all know that's not going to happen, so we'll just sit on the sidelines and watch the mac go over the waterfall.

 

[jpietrzak8]

I doubt Apple could build the Mini we all want. The market just doesn't seem to be their on the consumer level.

Uhm, what? We've got the NUC, the BRIX, the Alpha, the ZBox, several HP models, Lenovo models, Dell models... The SFF PC market is exploding. A market that Apple was once poised to dominate has slipped out of their fingers.

If Apple continues to avoid markets where it can't get an ungodly profit margin, they're going to run out of markets to play in.